I had to be tough to leave Arsenal, says Afobe

Benik Afobe says he had to show mental toughness to leave Arsenal for the Championship at the age of 21, and has credited Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe for taking a gamble on him.

Afobe left the north London giants for Wolves in 2012 after playing for the Gunners since the age of six, and insists his path back into the Premier League has been a long and arduous journey, eventually taking him to the Vitality Stadium in January last year.

Cherries striker Afobe, who has pulled out of the African Nations Cup with DR Congo to "aid his improvement as a player", cites the example of other players that have left Arsenal only to never play in the top flight again - something that has not proved the case for the now 23-year-old.

"When I was 16 and I signed for Arsenal I thought I was a professional player, but there are a lot of players who sign at that age and are nowhere to be seen now", Afobe told Bournemouth's matchday programme.

"Coming from Arsenal and dropping down there are so many players that end up lower and are happy. That’s great but I wasn’t like that, by believing in myself I managed to get myself back here. I’m 23 now and I want to be the player that I’m hoping to become.

"I give Eddie Howe a lot of respect and credit for taking a chance on a lower league player who’d had injuries. I enjoy the training sessions and playing here in front of our fans, we’re a growing club and I feel we’re progressing forwards, that’s something I want to be a big part of".